School Daze
Even though it seems Justin was just born a few weeks ago he is now somehow old enough to be in preschool, which he started back in September. He seems to have made the adjustment well, starting with just two days a week while Susan was still on maternity leave, then going full time once she went back to work in October. He’s already got a stable of friends that he plays with every day and he recites their names when I ask him whom he played with that day. His school is really good and he likes the two teachers, who seem to love what they’re doing and are great with the kids.
The biggest problem so far, other than Justin getting bitten by a girl who’s a serial biter (which I won’t get into!), is that for the first time Justin is having separation issues when we drop him off. I don’t think he ever cried when getting dropped off at daycare, though when he started he was too young to understand what was happening. Now I have to deal with the heart-rending cries as I’m scurrying off to the car after plopping him down in his classroom every morning. It was worse in the beginning but soon got better once he got used to the routine.
But then on Halloween there was a costume parade at lunchtime which parents were encouraged to attend. Susan had some meetings that day so I worked from home and went over to the school just before lunchtime with Justin’s Thomas the Train costume in tow. He immediately ran over to me: “Daddy! Daddy!” Then, for the duration of the parade and subsequent lunch he clung to my side, demanding that I walk in the parade with him and hold his hand. He was the only kid who required a chaperone, and he wouldn’t leave my side to be in any of the group pictures with the other kids. There were even two other Thomas the Trains there and he refused to pose for a picture with them!
When everything was done I had to sneak out of the classroom while he was distracted by his second helping of pasta at lunch. I still don’t know if he cried once he realized I was gone. It seems clear that my presence during the lunch hour threw off his mojo and for the next few drop-offs the trauma of the first couple of weeks returned. So sad! But according to his teachers he does calm down soon after I leave each morning and then proceeds to have a grand old time.
There are two particularly funny stories to share about his first two months of preschool. The first one won’t surprise anyone who’s been around Justin during mealtime. Every day his teachers fill out a “report card” for him listing whom he played with, what activities he participated in, whether and how long he napped, when he went potty, what he had for lunch, and lastly, how much he ate. For the last one there are three options on the sheet: none, a little, and a lot. Can you guess which one has been circled on EVERY ONE of Justin’s report cards? I joked to Susan that they should make a separate master copy for Justin with “A lot” pre-circled to save time! And one time they even wrote in the margin “Justin was REALLY hungry today!” Crazy kid. That’s why I was smiling so much when I witnessed him having a second serving on Halloween.
The other funny story involves our first parent-teacher conference, which Susan attended. There we were given a more in-depth written report of Justin’s developmental progress to date. I think I laughed out loud multiple times while reading it that evening. Here are just a few of the gems:
Justin shows a lot independence in class. He represents himself as a “big boy”. He helps others to do things and meet their needs. He also tries to use some type of leadership to meet his goals.
He loves to ask questions: “But why?”
He communicates at all times with his peers.
Situations or experiences that cause distress: When a teacher redirects him.
So let’s summarize: Justin is a ringleader/social organizer, he doesn’t just accept a statement, he needs to know why, he never stops talking, and he doesn’t like other people telling him what to do. I feel sorry for his future boss! But seriously, we see all these traits exhibited at home so it made us smile seeing them highlighted by his teachers, though it’s humorous to hear words like “independence” and “leadership” used to describe a boy who likes to drink bath water and who still can’t eat a meal without some portion of it ending up on the floor, in his hair, or smeared on his hands and face.
So overall we’re very happy with his school and the transition he’s made. Little does he know he’s got at least twenty more years of education ahead of him just so can spend the rest of his life working for the man! ☺
(Note: most of this post was written 35,000 feet over Greenland on my way home from Europe and I was hoping to actually publish a blog post from a plane someday but stupid Boeing recently pulled the plug on their in-flight wifi service that I used on previous flights from Europe. Somebody needs to figure this out. They can put a man on the moon…)
